New study questions retirement planning calculators’ accuracyA study by researchers from Texas Tech University and Utah Valley University found that 36 of the online calculators provide "extremely misleading" advice in retirement planning. “When you have tools that say you are in great shape when professionals feel you may be in trouble, that can be dangerous,” says Harold Evensky, financial planner and adjunct professor at Texas Tech University. “Our hope is that the creators of retirement planning software for the public will modify their programs to incorporate these kinds of inputs so that we have a large universe of good quality tools.”--The Wall Street Journal

Dreams of living well in retirement dim for AmericansMore Americans this year lost confidence in their retirement prospects, with more men saving more for retirement compared with women, according to survey by the Consumer Federation of America. About 52% of people surveyed view their retirement prospects negatively, down 3 percentage points from last year. Only 47% of women said they were saving enough, compared with 57% of men. "The most important reason for the gender gap in savings is differences in income and wealth,” said CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck.--Bloomberg

Group aims to reform long-term care before the problem explodesThe Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative has presented a proposal aimed at revamping the existing system of providing financial resources for long-term care, according to CNBC. The group says it believes the current system of financing long-term services and supports is inadequate, especially for those with high levels of need. "It puts an enormous burden on family members and friends, often results in poor care, and frequently causes preventable harm that endangers recipients of care and their caregivers, and increases medical costs."--CNBC

Government spells out new Social Security rulesThe Social Security Administration has released its regulations on the phase-out of file-and-suspend and restricted application claiming strategies for couples who want to maximize retirement benefits, according to Kiplinger. Retired couples who have reached the full retirement age of 66 by the end of April may use file and suspend for their retirement benefits while the restricted application strategy remains an option to those born on Jan. 1, 1954. Couples who still qualify for these strategies are advised to run their numbers and determine which of the two will work better for them.--Kiplinger

Average American household nearing retirement has this much savedA report from the Government Accountability Office shows that the average household has about $106,000. But the median household is just $10,000 to $20,000 because a large portion of them (41%) have no retirement savings at all. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that 41% has nothing to provide income in retirement. For instance, 56% of them are home owners, with 22% having paid off their house in full; and 32% have a pension. Moreover, many are expecting Social Security retirement benefits. "Social Security replaces a higher percentage of earnings for lower-income workers and their dependents than for higher-income workers," says the report.--The Motley Fool